The refurbishment and reconfiguration of 4 existing operating theatres, upgrading them to Ultra Clean theatres

The work was carried out as part of a €25 million investment programme undertaken by the hospital’s owner, the Mount Carmel Medical Group (MCMG).

Howorth Air Technology was chosen for the project because of the Exflow Ultra Clean Ventilation Unit. Work was completed in May this year, and Aut Even is now the first private hospital in Ireland to have all UCV operating theatres.

The project was particularly unusual in that the DSU is not only a modular construction, but is also substantially bigger than most modular build theatre projects – the new facilities are housed within a stand-alone 1200m2 single storey modular construction. It was also built very quickly – the hospital required that the unit be operational within 13 months of the decision to proceed.

The 38 modules which make up the DSU were built and substantially fitted-out in Belfast to facilitate ease of transportation when moved to site. Services designed and pre-installed included ventilation, ductwork, medical gases, domestic water services, electrical installation, door and sanitaryware. The modules were delivered, fitted, and the building watertight within only 7 days.

The entire project was characterized not only by speed of build, but by attention to detail, such as the installation of softened water systems for endoscopy washers and washer disinfectors in the TSSU. The entire DSU was also “future proofed”, with IT provision for any high – tech developments in the future. The theatres’ infastructure was designed to allow possible upgrading to integrated operating room solutions that utilize digital and emerging technologies such as image-guided surgery, robotics and progressive scan camera systems.

The official launch of the new DSU took place on May 19th, when the building was opened by Mary Harney, the Irish Minister for Health and Children.